How difficult was it for ordinary cultivators to change heaven and earth?
Even powerhouse experts of the Xuanhuang Realm at the Longevity realm could at most only defy a few principles of Heaven and Earth to a slight extent.
Hence, the second major part of the Mending the Heavens Record was an exposition on how to mend deficiencies and strengthen oneself.
Breaking free from the constraints of the so-called cultivation system's framework, it began from the origin of life itself, listing over a hundred potential methods to break through one's own limits.
The final and most extensive section of the Mending the Heavens Record expounded in detail on how to "heal Heaven."
If an abnormality occurred in the operation of the Heavenly Dao, various "symptoms" would manifest, just like an illness in a person.
Only by prescribing the right remedy for the ailment could the disease be cured.
...
Strictly speaking, the Mending the Heavens Record was not a cultivation technique. Rather, it was the Heavenly Physician's summation of his own cultivation experience—a concrete synthesis of methodology and practical insights.
Many of the viewpoints and ingenious ideas within it were truly unprecedented to Li Fan.
And the numerous phenomena of Heavenly Dao mutations recorded therein broadened his horizons immensely.
Li Fan was almost certain that the Heavenly Physician had definitely visited more than one cultivation world.
Without observing the Heavenly Daos of over a hundred cultivation worlds, it would have been utterly impossible to pen such a magnificent magnum opus.
Li Fan read on, completely enthralled, while a few more measures of respect and vigilance toward the Heavenly Physician inevitably grew in his heart.
Although he had temporarily led the Heavenly Physician to believe he was Tianjue's successor by relying on his foreknowledge and informational advantage, and Tianjue himself was deranged, mentally unstable, and elusive—making it normally impossible to verify Li Fan's claims—there was no guarantee the Heavenly Physician did not possess a way to forcibly pry memories from Tianjue's mind.
Li Fan clearly remembered that during the confrontation between Tianjue and the Master, the Heavenly Physician had revealed his true form and subdued the maddened Tianjue in mere moments, even performing an "operation" on him.
Therefore, even though Li Fan had secured a minor victory, he did not get carried away.
Instead, he did everything he could to commit this vast, boundless Mending the Heavens Record to memory first.
If the Heavenly Physician discovered the deception and came knocking, Li Fan would trigger True Reversion immediately.
Even if all other arrangements in this lifetime were completely wasted, having this Mending the Heavens Record meant he would definitely not come out at a loss.
However, that was only the worst-case scenario Li Fan prepared for.
In reality, according to Li Fan's deductions, possessing the legacies of both the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace and Tianjue truly qualified him as their successor.
As for how he had obtained these legacies...
To the Heavenly Physician, that might not matter in the slightest.
As long as the fact that Li Fan possessed True Reversion remained unexposed, the Heavenly Physician would never act against him!
The Mending the Heavens Record was profound and abstruse. Even with Li Fan's current foundation of knowledge, studying it proved exceptionally grueling.
"In the lifetime of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock, before the advent of the Profound Net, there was also a technique called the Mending the Heavens Record."
"Back then, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals forced all cultivators under heaven to cultivate it..."
"Which ultimately facilitated the Heavenly Profound Mirror's final metamorphosis into the Profound Net."
"Both were about mending one's own deficiencies. Looking back now, the two share common ground. Perhaps at their core, they were one and the same."
...
As he read, Li Fan suddenly recalled his experiences from earlier reincarnations.
Combining the process of the Heavenly Profound Mirror shifting into the Profound Net and ultimately Usurping Heaven with the theories in the Mending the Heavens Record, various insights surged into Li Fan's heart.
In an instant, he was overjoyed.
Li Fan immersed himself in study, losing all track of time.
When he reached the final passage of the Mending the Heavens Record concerning the ultimate, final means of healing Heaven, his entire body shuddered violently, and he snapped back to full awareness.
"This..."
An incredulous light erupted in Li Fan's eyes, and his body trembled slightly.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart.
Then, he read through that exposition meticulously, more than a dozen times over.
It was merely a possibility hypothesized by the Heavenly Physician, one that even he had never actually put into practice.
And yet...
"The Floating Crossing Void Great Array, capturing other worlds and grotto-heavens..."
"The ancient war..."
"The Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, Tianjue..."
"The earth-shattering upheavals of the Xuanhuang Realm over several millennia..."
The words spoken by Heavenly Dao Mr. Bai when he appeared to face Chuanfa in the 115th lifetime...
...
Countless past clues flashed through Li Fan's mind one after another, corroborating and aligning with the text before him.
Li Fan could not help but suck in a cold breath.
"If this is truly how it is..."
A flicker of horror and alarm flashed across his eyes.
At this moment, he no longer had any inclination to continue reading the Mending the Heavens Record.
If this conjecture of his held true, then the Heavenly Physician's true strength...
Li Fan even felt a rare pang of urgency, wanting to verify this hypothesis as soon as possible.
Ultimately, however, he forcibly suppressed it.
"No, I must wait until the next lifetime."
"Aside from the Heavenly Physician, I should be the only one who knows the contents of the Mending the Heavens Record. If I probe this in the current life, I will definitely expose myself!"
"In the next lifetime, everything else can be set aside. I must verify this matter first..."
"If it truly is like this..."
The complacency in Li Fan's heart from having deceived the Heavenly Physician instantly vanished without a trace.
In its place came an unprecedented solemnity.
Along with it, he even grew wary of this Mending the Heavens Record, which could otherwise be called a supreme manual.
After pondering for a long time, Li Fan finally decided to finish reading it.
"I cannot adopt all of it."
"Yet its perspectives can perhaps be borrowed and adapted to suit myself."
"Absorb its essence, integrate it with my own strengths, and deduce and create a Mending the Heavens Record of my very own."
With that thought, his divine sense plunged once more into the vast ocean of knowledge within the Mending the Heavens Record.
...
Heavenly Sword Sect, Sword Tomb.
The clone Li Qing sat cross-legged beside the black sword, nourishing it with his own sword dao comprehension.
On this day, a massive influx of content suddenly surfaced in his sea of consciousness.
All transmitted from the true self.
"Heavenly Dao has flaws; I shall mend them myself."
Li Qing savored the mysteries between the lines, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
Due to the true self's restrictions, Li Qing did not know where this abstruse technique originated.
However, judging by its sheer subtlety and sophistication, it could not possibly be the true self's own comprehension.
Knowing the true self's natural aptitude all too well, Li Qing was virtually certain of this.
"The true self must have stumbled upon some fortuitous encounter..."
Li Qing paid no more heed to anything else and focused entirely on studying the technique.
"So that's how it is..."
"Sword dao is a component of the Heavenly Dao. Since the Heavenly Dao can have deficiencies, the same holds true for sword dao."
"Thus, that wonder of Heaven, the wooden sword, instinctively wishes to mend its own flaws as well. This black sword is an instinctual attempt of its own."
Brilliant light rippled repeatedly in Li Qing's eyes.
"In truth, that wonder of Heaven, the wooden sword, has already approached perfection asymptotically. Taking another step forward is easier said than done."
"Yet perhaps one can carve out a new path by starting from other Daos."
"As the saying goes: stones from other hills may serve to polish jade."
Thinking thus, while nourishing it with sword dao, Li Qing began weaving in other insights as well.
Chapter 913